Madcap Mabel Normand

I don’t use the label ‘GENIUS’ without some reservations regarding Mabel Normand as if I use it too often it might sound like hyperbole, an exaggeration and perhaps an overstatement.However during her lifetime people thought of her that way.

In 1924, a fan magazine wrote and I quote; “Mabel Normand is a genius – perhaps the most remarkable that ever came to the screen”….”With Mabel Normand, acting bubbles out of her soul like water from a spring.I don’t believe she gives it much thought.Also if she gave it much thought, she would hurt her work.She is at her best when she ‘just does it.’